The Psychology of Responsibility

Abstract

Humanism and holism have hit the medical profession with the searing force of righteous anger, and the health-care system will never be the same. As a powerful counterforce to the increasing technology and dehumanization of post-Flexnerian medicine,^{1 , 2} which posits an omnipotent technician-physician and a passive, helpless patient, humanism and holism emphasize consideration of the person rather than the disease,³ the interpersonal relations between physician and patient⁴ and the individual patient's responsibility as an initiating participant in his or her own health care.⁵ Responsibility is a key word in the humanistic rhetoric. People are encouraged to take responsibility for maintenance of . . .